Sci-Tech Empowering Rural Transformation 2023：Way forward from Mr. Robert Walker

Mr. Robert Walker, professor of sociology at Beijing Normal University and professor emeritus and emeritus fellow of Green Templeton College, University of Oxford

Young people, are being brought up in the era of the internet. They are used to short online-videos and to live streaming – producers selling goods on the internet directly from farm to home. It means that young people has the great potential to add to the market value of rural projects.

China’s agriculture and rural industries are already increasingly highly mechanised. The use of drones, field video systems, smart fisheries, and much more are all designed to add to sustainable development. It is for young people to lead the way in these new technologies and to transform traditional agricultural production and distribution strategies to bring them into the 21st century.

But for young people to do so, they need support. Lots of it. Life seems so much easier in the urban areas, but it may not be so fulfilling.

As young people in China lead the way in rural areas, so China leads the way in developing rural areas worldwide globally.

Driving transformation, especially in rural areas, requires more than just technology. It means ensuring that young people in every community feel heard, supported and empowered.